this was one of the first digital recordings i did, back in 99(?) on a motu 2408. before that i was using a yamaha 8-track cassette. everything was tracked with radioshack pzms, one 57 and an AT40series i borrowed through the preamps of a tiny behringer mixer. The room we tracked in was a tiny practice room in our space in Oakland, basically a closet.

even though the recording quality is not amazing, i think the tune has a nice feel that comes through. I've acquired tons more gear since then, worked in better rooms, learned a few things about mic placement & phase, but I still have a soft spot for this recording.

There are a lot that I've done that I've been really happy with over the years for a variety of reasons. Many were done under a variety of circumstances.

Last year, I did an instrumental record for a group called Go There, which is led by a guitarist named Scott Sawyer. The record also features drummer Kenny Soule (DAG, Nantucket), electric bassist Otiel Burbridge (Allman Brothers, Aquarium Resuce Unit), organist/flautist Kofi Burbridge (Derek Trucks, Aquarium Rescue Unit), and upright bassist Ron Brendle. The album was recorded in three days, with the players learning the songs in the studio before each take. I'm pretty sure nothing on the album was tracked in more than two takes and several cuts on the album are the first time those songs have ever been played by the band. I'm really happy with it, as are the guys in the band. Kenny (who's done many, many major label recordings, including sessions for Sony at Muscle Shoals) said it was the best drum sound he's ever had on a record and Oteil said (in an interview) that it was the first time he's ever had fun in the studio.

That record was done to iZ RADAR24 (Nyquist) in a professional studio.

I also did a stright up jazz record a few years ago for bassist Ron Brendle with pianist Frank Kimbrough (Maria Schneider) and drummer Al Sergel (Jason Upton) called Photograph. This recording was done in a church and intended to be a rehearsal and equipment test for a remote recording rig that subsequently recorded a few shows on a tour that group did. We were in and out of the church in about two hours (including setup and tear-down) and got better stuff than any of the shows we recorded on the actual tour. Again, almost all of the songs on this record are first-take run-throughs.

It was recorded with an Akai 1600(?) hard disk recorder/mixer/all-in-one box with Presonus M-80 preamps, a Joemeek VC-6Q, a Distressor, two FMR RNCs, and a pair of Sennheiser HD-280 headphones. Nine mics, submixed to eight tracks.

I also mixed a ridiculously cool record by a singer/songwriter named Chris Smith, who performs under the name Sunshone Still called Dead Letters. He recorded the entire album himself on an all-in-one hard disk recorder while moving from North Carolina to Austin, Texas, back to NC, then to South Carolina. The entire album is absolutely gorgeous. According to Chris, it was recorded entirely using one SM58 and a "big, green bass drum microphone."

The album was mixed in a professional studio at a pace of two or three songs per day.

I recorded the last show of a band called Five Star Crush. http://www.myspace.com/fivestarcrush. It was a great small show and the recording came out wonderful. I don't have a sample posted online though, sorry.

I recorded Hope in my home studio and it came out pretty good. I wrote it and played everything. I like listening to it. Can't say that for everything I've written.http://www.myspace.com/jesspurviance

This record (King Cake) that I engineered and co-produced last year for a lady named Lisa Haley. Zydeco music, and it really messed me up for awhile cause I was so used to recording rock and roll albums, it had been awhile since I recorded anything without any editing....Great players...Keb Mo mailed in a few parts, Lee Sklar and George Hawkins Jr. on bass, Skip Edwards played the accordion and dusted off the old C3, Jim Christie on drums...it was really refreshing to record such awesome talent, and to use equipment in the purest way...and to not have to worry about performance, these dudes were all ON IT. JH-24 @ 30. Bcm10 for tracking, although some of it was through this crazy old RCA tube console, most mics were old ribbons or tubes.
Try that one here: http://www.bluefiddle.com/album_king_cake_01.html

Also was really proud of the mixes I did on Savoy's newest "greatest hits" record. They re-recorded/arranged a bunch of favorites off of their catalog. (Paul Waaktaar-Savoy was/is the guitarist for a-Ha of huge early 80's MTV/Norweigian fame) I know...Take-on-Meeeeeee, Take-Me-Onnnnnnnn....hilarious. Some of those mixes still kill me though. All of those were mixed through the 8038 and mastered by George Marino. Good luck finding a sample of this online, I just looked forever...

Also, one of the first records I assisted on for a Tallahasee band called Mira. My good friend Mark is in the band and we tracked it at the amazing Boogie Tracks. I didn't know crap about dick then, and am always drawn to the feeling of the record, probably drawn to the innocence and the amazement in my wide open eyes whilst making it. http://www.mira.nu/

this is a very cool thread. i'll have to come back to it when i'm near some good speakers and with time to listen!

on the sharing front -- i'm REALLY excited about this new tune i'm working on with my band Larry Banilow, but it's not posted anywhere yet. however, if you go to our myspace site you can check out a few tunes. Pillow Time is definitely a favourite. it still needs some work plus a legit mix before it's all released on a full-length (planned later this year).

the new one we're working on is a spoof in the Tomorrow Never Knows league for which i had to pick up one of those rogue electric sitars. i'll have to share that soon, but not 'til the singer signs off.

I did a pretty amazing session with these guys up at avatar. With Anthony Hamilton and Soulive.

Amazing, inspirational people nd performances. The songs of the civil rights movement. It was being filmed for a documentary, so presumably you will be able to see how I recorded them, all live, in studio A at avatar... sometime tis coming year I hope.

The blind boys are inspirational, and i am proud to have recorded them.

I did a pretty amazing session with these guys up at avatar. With Anthony Hamilton and Soulive.

Amazing, inspirational people nd performances. The songs of the civil rights movement. It was being filmed for a documentary, so presumably you will be able to see how I recorded them, all live, in studio A at avatar... sometime tis coming year I hope.

The blind boys are inspirational, and i am proud to have recorded them.

wow, i am envious... i got into them when i heard their rendition of tom waits' "jesus gonna be here" -- immediately floored. for weeks all i listened to was that album.

I did a pretty amazing session with these guys up at avatar. With Anthony Hamilton and Soulive.

Amazing, inspirational people nd performances. The songs of the civil rights movement. It was being filmed for a documentary, so presumably you will be able to see how I recorded them, all live, in studio A at avatar... sometime tis coming year I hope.

The blind boys are inspirational, and i am proud to have recorded them.

wow, i am envious... i got into them when i heard their rendition of tom waits' "jesus gonna be here" -- immediately floored. for weeks all i listened to was that album.

is the stuff you recorded with them to be released on the new record?

The stuff I recorded with them is for a movie about the sogs of the civil rights movement. We were all in the studio at the same time... roots, tv on the radio, soulive, anthony hamilton, blind boys... it was crazy.
They even filmed the A room sessions and we were working in both the a and the b room at avatar...

I did a pretty amazing session with these guys up at avatar. With Anthony Hamilton and Soulive.

Amazing, inspirational people nd performances. The songs of the civil rights movement. It was being filmed for a documentary, so presumably you will be able to see how I recorded them, all live, in studio A at avatar... sometime tis coming year I hope.

The blind boys are inspirational, and i am proud to have recorded them.

wow, i am envious... i got into them when i heard their rendition of tom waits' "jesus gonna be here" -- immediately floored. for weeks all i listened to was that album.

is the stuff you recorded with them to be released on the new record?

The stuff I recorded with them is for a movie about the sogs of the civil rights movement. We were all in the studio at the same time... roots, tv on the radio, soulive, anthony hamilton, blind boys... it was crazy.
They even filmed the A room sessions and we were working in both the a and the b room at avatar...

that sounds really awesome. what a cast of characters! i'll have to watch out for that.

Okay, so I'm new around here. I mostly do stuff with my own band. We track in a little cross shaped room over our drummers garage, no amount of auralex or 703 can help, but it's what we have. We track in Logic pro on a dual core imac using an apogee ensemble and a Presonus digimax for add'l pres. Audix drum mics, KSM 44's>Blue Robbies for room mics. Vocals mostly are a Blue Kiwi > UA M610, or AEA R84> M610. Guitars are SM57 and a KSM44 through an ADL600. Upright bass recorded with Blue Kiwi or AEA R84 > UA M610 (mic depends on which bass I use) along with an octava ribbon mic or KSM44 for ambience and slap.

This is what we used on our Xmas record which is what I am most proud of. Everything was mixed ITB in Reaper using mostly UAD plugs.